Rotate the crankshaft until the #1 piston is at TDC (top dead center) of the compression stroke. Push down the #1 cylinder rocker arms so that the pushrod forces the valve lifter down into the completely collapsed position. Using feeler gauges, check that the clearance between the rocker arm and valve stem are within the recommended limits; I'm assuming you have hydraulic lifters so the minimum valve clearance for your 289 is 0.082 inches (2.08 mm) and the maximum valve clearance is 0.152 inches (3.86 mm).
You always want to adjust your valves in the same order as your engines firing sequence (the firing order on your 289 is 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8. Once you've adjusted the #1 cylinder valves, rotate the crankshaft until the next piston is at the TDC position of the compression stroke and adjust the rest of the valves the same way as I stated above. Once your finished adjusting all of the valves, start the engine and drive it around or let it idle until it reaches the normal operating temperature. Now you're ready to do the final valve adjustments and you use the same procedure over again.
__________________ 1984 Mustang 331 stroker
1990 Mustang 5.0L convertible
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